Great Australian Quilts issue #11 2020

Wow, what a journey I have had gathering the contents of this issue! Our projects come from many parts of this large nation and include a lot of diversity. Although we’ve been affected by COVID-19 for most of this year, I have felt connected with our fellow quiltmakers and textile artists near and far. Unlike any other year, the annual BERNINA National Best of Australia Quilt Award has not been judged. Consequently, the winning quilts from 2019 will be judged for the national award at the 2021 Australasian Quilting Convention. So, although we couldn’t share the winner of the ultimate prestigious award of the quilting year, we have included each of the eight Best of Show quilts from the states and territories for our readers — maybe you can make…

Homespun BOM WITH NATALIE BIRD Each year, in the February issue of Homespun, an original and exciting Block of the Month program begins. The 2021 BOM will be designed exclusively for the magazine by Natalie Bird of The Birdhouse. Natalie invites you to sew and stitch your way through six instalments throughout the year as you create a gorgeous quilt featuring her latest fabric range — Heartstrings. To order a subscription, visit: www.magshop.com.au Bee Mindful BOM Earlier this year, the folks at Lloyd Curzon Textiles sprang into action to help raise funds for the regeneration of Kangaroo Island’s flora and, more specifically, to aid in the recovery of the Kangaroo Island Ligurian bee population. Bees play a critical role in the pollination of many of our food crops and flowering plants, and without bees many plants…

Each year the quilting guilds of Australia present an exhibition of members’ quilts. Many sponsors support each exhibition and the resulting prize pool often totals more than $20,000. The BERNINA Best of Show Award is a prestigious award for each state’s quilters guild annual exhibition. From all entered quilts in all categories, a quilt is chosen by the independent judges to be awarded Best of Show. A BERNINA sewing machine and rosette proclaiming the entry to be the BERNINA Best of Show for that state is awarded. The eight Best of Show quilts are then displayed at an annual convention in Melbourne, where the overall winner is announced as National Best of Australia Quilt Award. This year the annual convention was cancelled due to COVID-19. There was hope it could be held…

Materials • 1.5m (1¾yd) natural cotton-linen blend fabric (background)• Assorted fabric scraps up to the size of a fat eighth in a range of yellows, oranges and red-oranges• Fat quarter each of solid fabrics in dark brown, very dark green, dark grey green, dark green, green, grey green, light grey green and light green• Fat eighth each of solid fabrics in yellow green and pale green• 1.3m (1½yd) backing fabric• Batting at least 100cm x 85cm (40in x 34in)• Thin fusible interfacing at least 110cm x 85cm (44in x 34in)• Sewing threads in assorting colours to coordinate with the patchwork fabrics (quilting)• Baking paper• Large sheets of tracing paper• 2B or 4B pencil and black permanent-marking pen• Rotary cutter, ruler and mat• Sewing machine with darning/free-motion foot• General sewing supplies Preparation and…

I am an artist. I stitch hundreds of little pieces of hand-dyed fabric together to make bold textile paintings. I create artworks to enjoy and capture the wonder of this world. I work in two main themes: native flora and childhood. I love to celebrate the learning journey of small children discovering this awesome world, and translate that joy and awe to our adult lives. Observing small children notice budding flowers, snail trails, ripening fruit, textured leaves, floating bubbles, dripping rain and pencil marks on paper for the first time is a wonderful reminder of just how special these ordinary things are. In an effort to retain some of that wide-eyed wonder myself and to share it with others, my current body of vibrant quilted textiles incorporates traditional patchwork and quilting…

The 16-piece quilt set is the fifth created by the textile art group, WA Inspired Art Quilters. This collection celebrates wonderful coastal and inland landscapes, and respectfully acknowledges ‘care for country’ by Aboriginal people, before white settlement and up to the present day. To see all the quilts that appeared in this collection, and to read more about the inspirations and local Aboriginal history, visit the website: https://wainspiredsite.wordpress.com Artist’s statement: “I lived in Albany for 10 years and fell in love with the majestic landscapes of the Great Southern Region — particularly the Stirling Ranges. The surrounding colours change with the seasons. Verdant after winter rainfall and interspersed with patches of yellow canola fields in spring; gold with ripening wheat and then the dry summer parches the landscape.” Hand-dyed and commercial fabrics.…